Sunday, March 22, 2009

spiritual food

Last Saturday night, Omar, Bob, and I went to take Bob's friend, Slade, to listen to a pianist at a piano bar. Listen is the operative word, because Slade is blind, and has been for his entire life. To be honest, I have never spent any real time with a blind person....or a homeless person. Until now. The past weekend served as a chance for me to see past my inhibitions and misconceptions and into the hearts of some of Gods most treasured children. Rather than give a detailed description of the adventures, which included a challenging and wonderful night with Bob and Slade, and a day with 450 sandwiches, i'll sum it up in pictures. And quotes.

"If someone wants to make a difference or whatever, they should. They shouldn't just keep it inside."-my darling (almost) 12 year old sister."But the needy will not always be forgotten, nor the hope of the afflicted ever perish."-Psalm 9:18

(the picture says enough, to learn more about my brother, Andrew, click here)

"I would rather be a drunken bum in the streets than a person who thinks of themself as righteous and doesn't take time to love others. If a religion makes you hate people, youve got the wrong religion dude."- Bob, the musician/homeless man

"We are here with you man. And we are praying. You guys are not in this alone."-my husband

"Thank you for the food. You done a good job getting us food, and the Lord will bless you, but what we need is spiritual food. Sandwiches waste away, but the Lord can fill us in a way no food ever can. "-the man in the green beanie(by the way, I promised this man 20 bibles. If you have any extra bibles lying around, let me know.)

Its so funny what happens to your heart when you love other people.Jesus has definitely wrecked my life.

Like Shane Claiborne says, "Another world is possible. Another world is already here."

I had my heart transformed at the age of 17 by a God who stopped at nothing to make His love for me known. I am broken and imperfect, but because of His love I am whole. I am learning how to be a human being, though often times I feel like an alien. Fortunately, God has given me a loving, patient husband who understands what its like to have one foot in heaven and the other on earth. We make a dynamic duo, if I do say so myself, and I couldn't be more excited to see our life unfold. In the mean time, I am learning how to trust, to love authentically, and to be where I am...wherever that is.